Attend this slide talk about the fascinating tale of the North Shore line and the ongoing efforts to pay forward this unique "haunted" heritage, including the train station rehabilitation.

When interurban light rail service drove its unifying "golden spike" track between Chicago, through Lake Forest, on to Waukegan in the late 1890s, the City saw its bargaining position. The City's fee? $10,000; the exact cost of the 1899 City Hall and second floor library, now the Council Chamber. This trolley service became the North Shore line and eventually the McClory Bike Path. The "ghost train track," lasted only slightly over half a century, gone 62 years. Yet it still haunts Lake Forest through its impact on construction and later preservation of many defining local buildings.

The spirit of the 1900 station, its floor trod by generations of patriots and others from 1900 to the 1980s, will return with its reconstructed terra cotta tile floor, supported by North Shore Chapter NSDAR and Lake Forest Preservation Foundation.

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North Shore Chapter NSDAR: Members are women who come from diverse backgrounds and hold a variety of interests. Their common bond is their lineal descent from patriots of the American Revolution.NSDAR: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 185,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world's largest and most active service organizations. To learn more about the work of today's DAR, visit www.DAR.org or www.youtube.com/TodaysDAR.

Photo courtesy of North Shore Chapter

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